Disclosure: GIANT provided me with a $20 gift card along with a sample pack of products. All opinions in this post are my own. The giveaway was provided by GIANT. Thanks!
Food budgets can sometimes be hard to set in stone especially when trying to buy the right kinds of foods for your family. You might know that as pharmacy has generic brands for brand name medications, grocery stores also have their brands to compete with national brands. Are you one to buy the store’s brand over the national brand? Well, you might want to check out GIANT’s challenge. GIANT Food Stores is encouraging customers who haven’t yet tried their Own Brands to put them to the test in a new promotion. During the weeks of March 16 and March 23, customers who purchase selected national brand products, will receive GIANT’s Own Brands equivalent products for free in the Buy Theirs, Get Ours Free Challenge. Among the products included in this promotion are hot dogs, cola, paper towels, granola bars and soup.
All GIANT’s Own Brands products are subject to a testing program, which includes customer feedback, to ensure that the grocer is consistently delivering on quality, taste and value. Based on this testing, hundreds of Own Brands products have been reformulated in the past couple of years to improve upon taste and quality, while still offering affordable prices.
While our family regularly shops at GIANT we do not always try the Own Brands, so it was really great to sample and compare the products in our own home.
What did we receive?
GIANT Brand Toilet Paper and Charmin Toilet Paper
GIANT Brand Chewy Granola Bars and Quaker Granola Bars
GIANT Brand Paper Towels and Bounty Paper Towels
GIANT Brand Chicken Noodle Soup and Campbell’s Chicken Soup
I also had a chance to purchase a few more items on my own to compare to the brand and I was really surprised! The flavors of the food items and texture of the paper items were VERY close. The price difference is definitely lower with GIANT’s Own Brands than the brand items. Now even though I would not necessarily purchase all the items sent to me, it was really a great test the similarities and differences. Each GIANT product went through its own rigorous testing before it went on shelves. We already purchase GIANT’s ice cream because my husband think it has a better flavor and it is a lot more economical. We will definitely be looking into adding GIANT’s paper products into our life since it is so similar. So what will you get to try? Check each specific week to see what you will be able to test. Week of March 16-22: Buy Ballpark Beef Franks 15oz Get Own Brands Beef Franks for FREE Buy Coke 2-Liter Get Own Brands Cola for FREE Buy Charmin Bath Tissue 6-Pack get Own Brands Bath Tissue 6-Pack FREE Buy Claritin Get Own Brands Allergy for FREE Week of March 23-29: Buy Bounty Paper Towels Single Roll get Own Brands Single Roll FREE Buy Quaker Chewy Bars 8-Pack Get Own Brands Chewy Bars FREE Buy Campbell’s Chunky Soup get Own Brands Chunky Soup FREE Buy Ben and Jerry’s Pints and get Own Brands Pints FREE
Want something a little better? How about getting all the items for free?
Enter to win a $25 gift card to buy these groceries and more.
I received a complimentary product for the purposes of this giveaway. No monetary compensation was provided for this post.
Did anyone take advantage of the gorgeous weather this past weekend? Our family is really over all the cold weather and although my husband thinks it has something to do with my painting of a beautiful snow day, I think it is just simply all about a crazy winter. Now that our children are healthy we decided we needed to take a trip into the city and across the Benjamin Franklin bridge over to Camden to visit Adventure Aquarium. My husband had not visited yet so I was looking forward having an extra hand to help with the kids, and boy did we. There was a special ticket price for all the snowbound families so every family in Philly seemed to be visiting the aquarium.
As we entered the exhibits we realized we were five minutes away from missing the feeding of the penguins so we hurried and arrived on time. It was really neat to see penguins being fed whole fish and squid. I actually was happy to see them because we learned these penguins prefer warmer weather otherwise they would have been inside.
We went back inside the building only to have our little ones request lunch so after a quick lunch break we continued our tour with the frog exhibit which opened on January 17th and continues through April 27th. As we started the exhibit we were stopped by a nice display of colorful ceramic frogs all decorated in different and unique ways which we found out were decorated by students from elementary Camden schools.I forgot to vote for my favorite frog because one classroom will win a pizza party.
We meandered through the crowds and we waited in line to check out the beautiful and exotic frogs. Julianne has seen plenty of pictures and colored frogs in her books but none as close as she was able to see them this weekend.
There was plenty of information on the frogs role in our environment to make anyone sensitive of their near extinction. Even though it was too much for small children like ours to understand, it was eye-opening for me.
Once we walked through the exhibit, we still had plenty of halls to visit. We loved seeing the scuba divers in the huge tank.
We especially liked the hippos too! Julianne was sure that the hippo was posing in a picture with her. OK, I thought he was.
The most interactive area was the kids play zone in addition to the petting areas where the kids could check out sharks, sting rays and more!
If you get a chance to get out to Camden, NJ then check out the temporary frog exhibit and learn more about the beautiful exotic frogs. Why not enter for a chance to win a family 4-pack of tickets? Enter below:
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I was provided with product to aid in my review. All comments are my own.
Hopefully everyone has a new year’s resolution. Usually one that goes out the window is eating less dessert. Who wants to eat less dessert? Well, we certainly have not thrown it out we have just replaced it with healthier choices with a little malice. Malice? Yes, my Chilean grandmother always referred to the use of alcohol in her cooking as malice. Her homemade birthday cakes had spiked marmalade and sometimes she would add it to random dishes I cannot even remember. I miss her lots! Not to go by memory lane, but I have been thinking about her A LOT lately because I wish we could share stories now that I am older.
Lately, when I think of creating a dessert I think about making something super tasty but somewhat skinny. I personally have been incorporating more non-dairy options since I have been ignoring my lactose-intolerant issues. Yes, that is not taking care of oneself but I have been like that all my life when it comes to yogurt and cheese. I take a year off and then I think my body will be different so then I have some regular yogurt and then suffer the consequences. In comes, So Delicious.
If you are a new reader you might now know I have been using their products for several years. Coconut milk has been a staple in my fridge and now they have come out with cultured coconut milk that can be used like sour cream or plain yogurt. They came out with a unsweetened and an unsweetened vanilla version. I have been using this like plain yogurt when serving my kids pears or thawed peaches. It has been a delicious combo. I also used it in my youngest’s birthday cake, substituting the sour cream for cultured coconut milk. It is a versatile product.
I do not know about you, but I like fruit compotes. I love the Middle Eastern fruit compotes that use rose water or orange blossom. So unique and exotic. I decided to choose my favorite dried fruits, chop them, and then soak them in orange juice and SKYY vanilla-bean vodka. Oh yes. It smelled so amazing and the flavor was exquisite. I left the mixture soaking overnight and then assembled my parfaits using the So Delicious cultured coconut milk. I hope you get to try this because it was not only a simple recipe but it is elegant and super flavorful. Do you like spiking foods?
Spiked Fruit Compote and Coconut Yogurt Parfaits
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: sit overnight
Ingredients (4 servings)
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1/2 cup dried strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup SKYY Infusions Vanilla Bean
1/2 cup orange juice
2/3 cup So Delicious unsweetened vanilla cultured coconut milk (per parfait)
Instructions
Add all the chopped dried fruit to a glass bowl. Pour vodka and orange juice over the fruit and mix. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Assemble before serving to guests.
Add 2/3 cup of cultured coconut milk per parfait glass, but it will depend what parfait glass size you pick. Mine fit 1 cup of ingredients. Top off each parfait with a little over a 1/4 cup of spiked fruit compote.
This is a sponsored post with Yummly and Ragú®. All opinions are my own.
Ever since we returned from Disney world I have been trying to incorporate more vegetarian nights at home. Tofu is back on the table once if not twice a week and an array of vegetables are added to any meal.We would love to see spring and summer soon but in the meantime, we stick to having our rainbow of vegetables at our table.
When I was asked to put my own spin on one of Ragú®’s recipe I knew I had to make one of the dishes a vegetarian / vegan option. I live in Philly and even though I have had 2-3 cheese steaks in the last 10-12 years, I know I would enjoy one that was its vegetarian equal if not better. I know that those who love their meat would think it would not compare but I know many families are trying to implement Meatless Mondays so I knew this recipe would be a perfect fit.
Who does not love mushrooms? My husband might think I like them a little too much but I can eat them in eggs in the morning, or as a side, sauteed with spinach and more. I could go for hours like Forrest Gump and shrimp. From what I have been hearing, mushrooms are great to get your skinny on or aiding in losing weight so I am glad I live close to mushroom capitol of the world.
Portabella mushrooms are one of my favorite mushrooms when substituting meat in one of my dishes. It is delicious and perfect for pizzas, or fajitas, or even a substitute for steak strips in cheese steaks.
My version of Ragú’s recipe had a lot of sauteed colored peppers and onions, four large sliced portabella caps, Ragu® Old World Style Traditional Sauce, crushed red pepper, and shredded mozzarella.
Did you know that in addition to the veggies I included in the recipe that each jar ofRagu® Old World Style® TraditionalSauce is made with 11 juicy tomatoes making it its richest, thickest recipe. It has the authentic Italian taste American family’s love and a variety of great tasting, quick and easy to make family favorite recipes.
If you wanted to make it vegan, the shredded mozzarella would need to be substituted using shredded vegan cheese. Super easy!
The finished product was delicious but just make sure to buy fresh sturdy rolls to make this a more promising meal. If the right bread is not used the sauce just makes the bread mushy. The meal was a great dish with a few fries and a salad.
Vegetarian Italian Cheese ‘Bella Sandwiches
by Noelle Kelly
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients (4 sandwiches)
4 large portabella caps
2 large onions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup part-skim mozzarella, shredded
1 jar (1 lb. 8 oz.) Ragú® Old World Style Traditional Sauce
4 hoagie rolls (6- inch rolls)
Instructions
Remove the stem from each portabella cap and slice the cap into 1/2-inch slices. Slice up the stem portion and add it to the slices.
Heat a large saucepan and add 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the sliced peppers and onions and fry for 10 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Cook the whole mixture for another 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic the last 5 minutes.
Add the sauce to the mushroom mixture and heat until the sauce is hot. Turn heat off.
Divide mushroom mix in four and add into each hoagie roll. Add 1/4 cup of cheese on top and place on baking sheet. Broil the tops of the sandwiches until bubbly.
Want to get more ideas for recipes the visit Ragú®on Facebook for additional quick, easy and delicious ideas.
Also, visit www.RaguSweeps.comto enter the Ragú Better and Better Sweepstakes for a chance to win great Authentic Italian themed prizes and a grand prize trip to Venice for a family of four.
I am a Boxtera Mommy Blogger and was sent a box to taste and review. All opinions are my own.
When I get ready for the week and I plan activities for my family I make sure that I pack healthy meals including snacks. Sometimes it gets a bit stressful because I tend to get into a rut with the same snacks. I like variety and sometimes I look into the lunch bag I see too many carbs but I was happy to discover a fun option for healthy snacks with a Boxterasubscription.
What would you do if you opened a box and saw FIVE big bags of unique healthy snacks? Well, make sure you have your toddler in the room so she could beg you to open them all. Yes. This is exactly what happened. If my toddler had a chance she would be queen snacker in our home but definitely limit to the appropriate times of day. For this instance though, I had a great taste tester on a cold snowy Saturday.
I was real excited to see the variety included in my box because there was a perfect combination of salty, savory, sweet, and sour so guess what we decided to try first? The hibiscus flowers! They were dried hibiscus flowers that were slightly sweetened. I currently have a bag of dried hibiscus flowers to make tea so tickled to be eating them whole. Tangy yet sweet. These are also high in vitamin C.
My favorite snack were thetangerine slicesbecause I had never tasted them before but they were tangy sweet too and really hard not to keep popping in our mouths.
The one that surprised our whole family were the BBQ banana chips. They had a nice kick of spice along with a sweetness. My toddler was not thrilled with the spice but she tried it with a swig of milk. My husband thought they were interesting and I thought they were tasty. What I like was the way the banana chips were not to thick or too thin and obviously sliced in a microplane.
Mango chews. Think fruit leathers but all natural mango slices ready to be devoured by your mouth. Trying to explain the dried part to my toddler was amusing. All she asked was for me to hand it over, stat! Tasty fruit. The biggest weakness for me was the Pub Mix. Anything with sesame sticks wins me over.
All in all I was really satisfied with how fresh all the snacks tasted and the fact that my toddler loved them. I always forget about dried fruits but I also try to limit the sugar intake too. The owner of the company is also a mother which is why I respect that she took it upon herself to create a company geared to healthy snacks available not only to mothers but to all people. The snacks have:
No trans fats
No artificial colors
No artificial flavors
No artificial sweeteners
So how much is this subscription box? For $19.95 a month you get a box of 5 different snacks and every month you get a new variety too.You could also order the snacks individually for $4.99 each but the better deal would be the subscription box since they come out to $4.00 a bag.
I definitely see these snacks lasting close to a month for our family, but if you are a larger family the deal is even better. You can order the family Boxtera subscription and get TEN full-sized snack bags for $29.95. That is an amazing deal! You could also send these as gifts too.
Want a chance to try a box? Enter below for a chance to win 5 full-sized snack bags like the one I received. The giveaway will run from today until March 3, 2014 and is only open to US readers. Good luck!!
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